A/N: I still don't own Harry Potter or any related characters.

Hermione blinked her eyes open and glanced around quickly. Professor Snape was asleep in the chair across the room. Apparently he'd stayed here with her. She wondered why. Was he really that interested in her research, or did he believe she might still be in danger? Either way, she found she was actually kind of glad he'd stayed.

"Good morning, sir," she called, watching him wake quickly. She wondered if he'd actually even been asleep. If he hadn't been, he'd been doing a good job of pretending.

"Good morning, Miss Granger. I trust you slept decently?" he asked, looking over at her.

"As decently as I could with my research having been stolen. Have I been cleared to return to class yet?"

"Not just yet, Miss Granger. I'm sure Madame Pomfrey will want to double check that your are alright. She had to go tend a Quidditch injury, I trust she'll be back soon."

"Quidditch, this early in the morning?" Hermione asked, nearly rolling her eyes. A small part of her wondered if Ron or Harry was involved, not that it made much of a difference.

"Apparently someone decided they needed some extra practice, not that it will make one iota of difference," Severus stated. Hermione snorted.

"It might," she muttered. "I still don't remember it sir. I was hoping... maybe a good night sleep... but my mind's just as blank as when I went to bed last night."

"You solved it once, you can solve it again, Miss Granger," Severus stated. "Professor McGonagall should be by soon. I half expected her to be here already."

"Quidditch injury," Hermione muttered. "Probably one of my housemates."

"That would explain it."

"Could I see my formula, sir? The one I wrote last night, maybe reading it now will jog something?" Hermione suggested. Severus nodded, handing her the parchment. "This is the conversion rune, and this is the one for joining... I think, maybe it had something to do with those. There was an ingredient, I remember reading something... I don't know which book. I think there might have been a picture on the page?"

Severus fought the urge to comment. Hermione could see a spark in his dark eyes. She let out a little laugh.

"What is so funny, Miss Granger?"

"You," she replied, summoning a quill and jotting a few notes. "I know what you want to say, that there's a million books with pictures in them."

"I was thinking no such thing," he lied. Hermione tilted her head, as if challenging his statement.

"If you say so, sir," she simply said. "Maybe... some sort of fusion potion? But no, that wouldn't work. The heat would destroy the balance... Sir, could you start naming fusion potions that don't generate heat?" she asked, looking up at him.

"There are hundreds of potions that would fit that description. Common or rare?"

"If it was common, I doubt I'd be so excited to have figured it out. I would have eliminated those first, so probably rare," she replied. Severus nodded. Her logic made some sense.

"Unless you only just now thought of using a potion and discovered one that would work within the first dozen you thought of?"

"No, I know I came up with the potion idea two months ago. I would have eliminated the common ones within that time span. See, here. I remember writing this symbol on the margin," Hermione said, pointing to the parchment. Severus leaned over to look.

"The rune for darkness?"

"Yes, and these numbers here. I used numbers for potions components, but these don't match anything else. I remember them being on page, but now... I can't remember what they mean either," Hermione whispered, her eyes blinking back a few tears. She raised her head.

"I think... I think it's getting worse," she said, her voice cracking. "I... I don't remember what this means either," she said, pointing to an equation she and Severus had discussed last night. "I... I think... I think I'm losing my memories."